- A group of animal rights activists broke into a farm in Wisconsin and freed 3,000 minks into the wild.
- Anonymous responsibility for the action was claimed on a website operated by the Animal Liberation Front.
- The local police reported that 90% of the minks had been recaptured within five days.
Thousands of minks were set free in western Wisconsin by animal rights activists who carried out a daring nighttime mission to liberate them from a fur farm.
Last week, the activists cut a hole in a chain-link fence and opened the cages to release 3,000 minks from the Olsen Fur Farm in Independence, Wisconsin, as reported by The Star Tribune. The farm owner only discovered the damage the following morning.
While the Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Office has not disclosed any information about the suspects, an anonymous group claimed responsibility by sending a message to the North American Animal Liberation Press Office, a website affiliated with the Animal Liberation Front—an extremist group previously identified by the FBI.
The message stated, “It’s operational for now, but maybe releasing several hundred mink has a chance to close it for good. We hope many of the minks enjoy their freedom in the wild, and that this farm will be unable to breed thousands upon thousands of them in future years.”
Challis Hobbs, president of the Fur Commission USA, expressed concern that the break-in could harm the minks more than help them. According to Hobbs, the released minks often die due to lack of food and the absence of secure burrows to protect them from predator attacks. This disruption also has negative effects on the ecosystem.
As of Wednesday, approximately 90% of the escaped minks have been recaptured, according to a spokesperson from the Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Office who spoke to the Star Tribune. The escaped minks accounted for three-quarters of the farm’s total mink population of 4,000.
Outside of business hours, the Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Office declined to provide further updates when contacted by Insider.
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